Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) put a bow on its partnership with ESPN last night (Sat., Dec. 13, 2025), as UFC Vegas 112 marked the last event that would stream on ESPN+ before the promotion ushers
in the Paramount CBS era in 2026 . In the main event of the evening, Manel Kape defeated Brandon Royval via technical knockout (TKO) in the very first round (see it again here). In the co-headlining act, Kevin Vallejos ended Giga Chikadze’s night with a brutal first-round stoppage win (see it again here).
Biggest Winner: Manel Kape
The UFC men’s Flyweight division has a new champion in Joshua Van, and now a new title contender, as well. Indeed, Kape made a great case for his own title shot after destroying Royval in the very first round (see it again here). That is now three straight TKO wins for “Starboy,” and seven of eight overall. What bodes well for Kape is the fact that the only other person in the Top 5 with a win is Tatsuro Taira, so the championship picture isn’t all that stacked at the top. If a title fight isn’t next, then a title eliminator against Taira could be in order.
Runners Up: Yaroslav Amosov and Melquizael Costa
Amosov — the former Bellator MMA Welterweight champion — passed his first test inside the Octagon with flying colors after submitting longtime veteran, Neil Magny, in the very first round with an anaconda choke (highlights here). Unlike a couple of other former Bellator champions, Patricio Pitbull and Patchy Mix, Amosov didn’t let the UFC jitters get the best of him and put the 170-pound division on notice. With his debut win under his belt, Amosov will likely now earn a main card spot in 2026, and a couple of more outings like this will have him in the Top 10 in no time.
The only thing better than winning your fifth straight fight under the UFC banner is doing it in highlight reel-inducing fashion. That’s just what Costa did after obliterating Morgan Charriere with a head kick knockout that ending his night in the very first round (see it here). To sweeten the pot, his “Performance of the Night” finish earned him $50,000 and consideration for “Knockout of the Year,” as well. More importantly, however, is that “The Dalmatian” is inching closer to a ranking spot in the crowded featherweight division.
Biggest Losers: Giga Chikadze and Brandon Royval
What in the world happened to Giga? After kicking off his UFC career with seven straight wins, which includes big victories over Cub Swanson and Edson Barboza, he has now lost four of his last five bouts, including his last three in a row. His latest defeat came at the hands of Kevin Vallejos, who stopped him in the very first round with a spinning backfist and elbows. Chikadze and his team are going to have to figure it out quickly because a fourth straight loss could earn him a one-way ticket out of the promotion…assuming he gets another chance to prove himself on the biggest stage following his latest setback. As for Royval, his TKO loss to Kape ruined his prospects of getting back into the title picture anytime soon because it was his second straight defeat. He will lose a lot of ground in the Top 5, and he will have to rattle of several consecutive wins before he gets back into the championship conversation since he drops to 2-3 over his last five outings.
For complete UFC Vegas 112 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
